Remembering The Traveller - Our Trav

#1 here. Today marks a whole year since we said goodbye to our sweet boy Trav (The Traveller). He was not with us for long, and he did not mingle with the other Gang members, with the exception of Tommy, but he was very much part of our world for 15 months, and we miss him more than we can say.

He showed up one day at the beginning of March 2015, and started to nap on the neighbour's old tractor in the hangar. This is the first photo I took of him:

 

He looked pretty rough, dirty and unkempt, and very hungry. I started by putting out some dry food for him near where he slept.

 

He was completely feral and absolutely did not trust people. He had clearly never been in a home or known any kindness. Strangely, he looked very similar to Manoush, a long-haired kitten who had turned up at the neighbours' back in 2007 and who had died recently from a saddle thrombus. I suspect the two were brothers and one found a home and the other not.

TRAV

 MANOUSH

As  the weeks and months passed, I got into a routine of feeding Trav regularly, and he became part of our little community. He quickly understood that Tommy meant him no harm, and he became good friends with Grisette, one of the neighbour cats.

 

He was an uncut male but, after consulting with my vet, I decided to let him be on that score. He was too feral to catch without causing major trauma. The only medication he had was good food and wormers.

He grew fat, and began to love lounging in the sun, and exploring the fields on a sunny day.

 

 

He also discovered the back of my garage and the boxes filled with hay  that provided comfortable bedding.

 

 

As winter approached, I made him a comfortable and insulated shelter at the back of the garage although he always preferred his hay boxes! He was often asleep in one when I would come to give him breakfast.  I put the dishes on top of his shelter:

 

 I was never able to pet him, but I could get closer and closer to him without him running away . Ultimately, the only thing that mattered was that he was safe and had a full tummy.

 

He suddenly disappeared towards the end of June last year. I wasn't worried at first as he would go walkabout occasionally but after a week, I was really concerned. And then one day, I found him at the back of my garage, in his shelter. He was in terrible shape, badly wounded and covered in maggots. He had probably been run over. I was incredibly touched that he somehow managed to come back to the only home he had ever known. I had no choice but to take him to the vet and help him over the Bridge. I still look for him every day when I go out with Tommy. I had him cremated and his ashes are partly home and partly scattered over the field he loved.

THE TRAVELLER - FOREVER LOVED

Thank you for sharing a little time with us

In order to celebrate The Traveler, we are running a little commenthaton, and will make a donation to Winnie's Wish in his name.